Growing Together Blog

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Written by Sparky Pritchard Friday, 09 July 2010 13:24

Over a century ago James and Mary, a missionary couple serving in Tientsin, China, welcomed a second son into their home.  As he and his older brother grew up and entered a boarding school in England, these boys excelled in sports – rugby, cricket, and track.  The younger of the two even set a record for the 100-meter dash.

While attending the University of Edinburgh, this second son continued to show flashes of brilliance as a runner.  Soon he emerged as the fasted sprinter in Scotland.  He was heralded as a national hero.

Both brothers were involved in sharing their faith during these years.  And for the younger boy, Eric Liddell, his evangelistic “talks” made front page news in the local papers.  Eric was moved by this response as God blessed his witness.  Doors opened for him to speak to thousands throughout the British Isles.

His notoriety grew as he continued running and with the 1924 Olympics approaching.  Eric made the track team, and every Englishman (and Scot) hoped that Eric would accomplish what no other Scot had ever achieved – a gold medal in the 100-Meter.

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Written by Sparky Pritchard Friday, 02 July 2010 12:09

On this day we celebrate the birth of our nation and offer our thanks for the privileges we enjoy as citizens of these United States.  There is no doubt that America boasts a “storied” history which is the direct result of God’s good hand upon us.  Exploring the roots of our country reveals the deep seated faith of so many of our founders.  Rising from the wilderness of a new world, we grew and flourished.  After declaring our independence and fighting for our freedom as a nation, our forefathers established a solid foundation upon which this republic has rested for 234 years!

One of the keystones of our rise to greatness could be summarized in a proverb from the Old Testament: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).  That verse is rich in meaning.  Writing in the 1600s, here is what Matthew Henry had to say about those words.

“Justice, reigning in a nation, puts an honour upon it. A righteous administration of the government, impartial equity between man and man, public countenance given to religion, the general practice and profession of virtue, the protecting and preserving of virtuous men, charity and compassion to strangers …, these exalt a nation; they uphold the throne, elevate the people’s minds, and qualify a nation for the favour of God, which will make them high, as a holy nation, Deu. 26:19.  Vice, reigning in a nation, puts disgrace upon it: Sin is a reproach to any city or kingdom, and renders them despicable among their neighbours.  The people of Israel were often instances of both parts of this observation; they were great when they were good, but when they forsook God all about them insulted them and trampled on them.  It is therefore the interest and duty of princes to use their power for the suppression of vice and support of virtue.”  Another author comments that verse 34 “makes righteousness the key to a nation’s greatness, a recipe that has perhaps not yet been tried, though its converse (34b) has often been proven” (from the New Bible Commentary).

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Written by Sparky Pritchard Thursday, 24 June 2010 20:42

While the temperatures were hovering around the three digit mark this past week, it didn’t melt the enthusiasm or cause the blessings to wilt at our annual Vacation Bible School.  The theme this year was The Egypt File … (and the weather made it realistic as we felt we were in the Egyptian desert!) But the real thrust of the week was to help our kids decode the Mystery of Life!  And that was accomplished by the dedicated efforts of dozens of workers who invested their time and energies into our VBS.  As I met one leader in the hall, her response to my question, “How are things going?” was simply, “I am so excited!”  There was so much for which to be thankful in looking back over the week.

As I write this on Thursday (with the finale on Friday yet to come), I am thrilled to report that we had 182 children come (which is the biggest VBS we have had in years).  There were 90 workers who came to teach, help with crafts, provide the decorations, lead music, guide recreation time, care for refreshments and a variety of other needs.  What an amazing team!  More importantly, through Thursday, 11 children placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as personal Savior!  That, in itself, would make the entire week worth it.  But many other children were impacted by the in-depth teaching of our curriculum from Answers in Genesis.

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Written by Sparky Pritchard Friday, 18 June 2010 13:13

If you or I were asked to compose a list of “deplorable sins,” few of us would have any problem putting it together.  Certainly, the “biggies” would come to mind immediately – murder, adultery, lying, stealing, pride, anger, drunkenness, idolatry, etc.  Justification for any and all of those is grounded in the reading of the Ten Commandments (in Exodus 20), the seven things God hates (from Proverbs 6), and the list of the works of the flesh (in Galatians 5).  And we tend to be quick in condemning these and other “deplorable sins” while rarely acknowledging subtler sins that we ourselves tolerate or excuse.

Not long ago, Jerry Bridges forced us to open our eyes to our own blind spots with his book, Respectable Sins.  The subtitle was convicting in itself – “Confronting the Sins We Tolerate.”

Let me highlight one of our lowlights that Bridges talks about – the sin of UNTHANKFULNESS.

Consider the story of the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19) that Jesus met one day while traveling to Jerusalem.  Graciously, all were cleansed of this “horrible sin” of uncleanness, restored to health, and given a fresh start in life.  Yet, only one returned to give thanks for what Jesus had done.  You can hear the pain and disappointment in Jesus’ voice as He asked the one man, “Were not ten cleansed?  Where are the nine?” (Luke 17:17).